Rebecca Gonzales

The Minnesota Department of Health publishes an extensive and organized annual abortion report that presents important public health information, including demographic statistics, while protecting the anonymity of women. Additionally, Minnesota reports the volume of abortions performed at each facility in the state. Minnesota’s abortion trends provide a glimpse of what is happening to the abortion market on a national scale. Similar to national trends, the total number of abortions in Minnesota has decreased, one abortion facility has closed, several have merged, and Planned Parenthood increasingly dominates the market.

Former abortionist Dr. Anthony Levatino has partnered with Live Action to create a series of informational videos with detailed illustrations of dilation and evacuation, aspiration, and medication abortions.

An editorial in Nature, one of the world’s leading scientific journals, recently covered the political debate surrounding fetal tissue harvesting and the editors’ perceived threat to this form of research with the defunding of abortion giant, Planned Parenthood.

During the Thanksgiving holiday week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control published its annual abortion surveillance report, revealing a historic decline in the incidence of abortion across the nation since 1973.

In their report, Nebraska’s Department of Health and Human Services, revealed that there were just seven instances out of 2,270 abortions where an emergency situation caused a waiver of the Nebraska informed consent law. Additionally, the report showed that 811, or 35.7 percent of the abortions were performed for women who did not report using any form of contraception. Additionally, socio-economic reasons were reported as a reason for 33 percent of abortions, patients declined to provide a reason for 16 percent of the abortions, and 14 percent of the abortions were due to contraceptive failure. The small percentage of remaining reasons included fetal anomalies, maternal life endangered, maternal physical health, mental health, and sexual assault.

According to Idaho Code Section 39-261, the state has been required to report induced abortions occurring in Idaho since July 1, 1977. Idaho compiles extensive information into impressive reports. Why should these reports only be available upon request? Information about abortion trends is very helpful to both citizens and policy makers. These reports should be made much more accessible.

There is no federal law guiding an efficient, organized, and uniform method for states to report their annual abortion statistics. While the majority of states have their own abortion reporting requirements, these laws are diverse and unique to the states. Often these state laws vary, requiring the collection of a plethora of different facts on topics from women’s ages to abortion complications. Lack of uniformity in reporting laws has led to an absence of consistency. Often, abortion reporting is voluntary, removing the incentive for states to produce reports. Abortion advocacy groups, pro-life groups, doctors, policy-makers, and the general public would benefit from comprehensive, timely, and accessible statistics regarding an issue that greatly impacts women’s health.